culture

Analog survival in a digital age

Today is my last day of instant noodles, working in my jammies till noon and going to the gym at night to see 3-dimensional people. It is the last day I live by myself and I’m excited! Tomorrow my lovely wife Khwantippa will finally join me, and not just for a few months. A new phase for the both of us. We’ll take you along on a colorful adventure, on the cusp of two cultures.

The article below is highly interesting, but has been extremely carefully worded 🙂 The down-to-earth synopsis is: non-EU citizens contribute to Belgian society to a lesser extent than their counterparts in other EU countries. The same phenomenon can be observed with EU citizens with a lower degree of eduction. The suggested cause is to be found in elevated unemployments benefits. My remark does not reflect any of my polical views, I just love how the true message was sugarcoated and swept under the rug with rates of activity and labor market immobility. That indirect mode of communication, with built-in conditionalities, is highly Belgian in itself 🙂 Like my colleague always says, when asked if they would like a cup of coffee, Belgians will answer “Yes, maybe, if it is not too much trouble and you were making coffee anyway”. The Dutch response will likely be “Any chance of a Cappucino?”.